217 Today: A tick bite made this rancher allergic to her own cattle. It’s a worsening issue for farmers

Tiktok Instagram Facebook-f
Following in the steps of her mother and grandmother, farmer Sharon Pennington spent many years raising orphan calves and nurse cows as an additional source of income on her farm in northern Missouri. Now, due to an alpha-gal diagnosis, she has halted this operation.
  • Photo: Rebecca Smith/KBIA

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Today’s headlines: 

  • A Democrat running for Illinois’ open U.S. Senate seat says she’ll work for responsible policies on Artificial Intelligence.
  • An Instagram post by the Illini Republicans supporting ICE received major criticism last week.
  • Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has announced a partnership between the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Amazon company Ring.
  • Governor J-B Pritzker has pumped 5 million dollars into a super PAC supporting Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton’s bid for U-S Senate. 

In today’s deep dive, an allergy to red meat spread by tick bites affects nearly half a million Americans.

217 Today is produced by Giuliana Means. Reporting today contributed by Christine Herman, Rebecca Smith, Sam Naftzger, Mawa Iqbal, Adelyn Mui, and Giuliana Means.

WILL and the Illinois Newsroom are committed to bringing you in-depth, relevant coverage that keeps you informed and engages you with our community and state. Join with thousands of others to keep this important public media-based resource available to all. Donate today >>

Giuliana Means